WORK on one of Hampshire’s largest housing developments could be delayed, it has emerged.

Barton Farm, which will see 2,000 new homes built to the north of Winchester, could be held up by a lack of agreement over the road layout, maintenance and a proposed 20mph speed limit.

Cala Homes, which is building the development, has said it would be a risk to start work without an agreement in place with the highways authority, Hampshire County Council.

The company has been given the go-ahead to start work on the first phase of the project, known as 1A and 1B, which consists of 423 homes.

It hopes to start work on 1B, to the north of the site, before Christmas with the first properties up for sale in summer 2015 and 1A, to the south, later next year.

Robert Westwood, Cala’s project director, said: “We still await any communication from Hampshire highways. It’s a personal risk for us getting started without those things being agreed on.

“We will be meeting with Hampshire highways to thrash it out and say ‘actually no, this is what we are proposing’, hear their views and then hopefully come to a conclusion.”

As part of the planning consent, which was granted in 2012, it was agreed that Andover Road North would be diverted at its junction with Harestock Road and Wellhouse Lane.

New Andover Road will be created to the east of the current Andover Road North, and it will reconnect with Andover Road to the north of Park Road, to form new access from New Andover Road for homes on Andover Road North.

Stoney Lane will be extended eastwards to form a new junction with New Andover Road and pedestrian and cycling routes will be created along Andover Road. There will also be improvements to existing public rights of way.

The development is expected to take up to ten years to complete, and will include a new primary school, office space, a 60-bed nursing home and district energy centre.